The Sugar Bowl matchup between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is almost here. College football analysts Paul Finebaum and Joel Klatt have made predictions for the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game between UGA and Notre Dame.
Former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray made his Sugar Bowl prediction on YouTube and clarified some points on Instagram.
Here is everything Murray said on the Sugar Bowl:
Who has the better roster and how big is the talent gap?
“For how good Notre Dame is, you can’t say it’s better than Georgia’s. If you just take out the quarterback position, I would say Georgia has the better roster and starters. It’s not a gigantic advantage, but it’s a slightly better advantage. Then you throw in the fact that Georgia has a brand new quarterback. There’s the uncertainty on how Gunner Stockton is going to perform at quarterback. That should scare you as a Georgia fan.”
He reaffirmed his uncertainty with Gunner Stockton. Stockton has no career starts.
Can the talent edge and Kirby Smart be enough to overcome the disadvantage at quarterback?
“Freeman is great. He’s a player’s coach. He’s recruiting really well. … Georgia fans believe the roster differences is so great that it doesn’t matter. I don’t think they realize how much talent Notre Dame has and that the gap is not that great,” said Murray.
Will the offense be better due to Gunner Stockton being a more mobile quarterback than Carson Beck?
“If I’m Marcus Freeman, I’m going to stop Gunner’s legs and force him to beat coverage with his arms. Do you know how good Carson was at reading defenses? Will the offense be more diverse? Yeah, it will be, but Gunner is not a guy who can get 1,000 yards rushing in a season.”
Stockton is more mobile than Beck, but he still has to rely on being an efficient passer.
On Instagram:
“The receivers for Georgia have gotta be big, not only in catching the football, but yards after the catch. I think there’s going to be a lot of quick game and getting the ball out of Gunner’s hands to make it easy. These guys have to be special with the ball in their hands.”
“Riley Leonard has gotta play big for Notre Dame. Not big like five touchdowns, but he’s gotta take care of the football, run the football when it’s there. IF he does that, I think he’s going to be pretty good down the stretch,” said Murray.
Aaron Murray predicts that the Georgia Bulldogs will win 17-14 against Notre Dame.